Graduate Division

470 Miles team consists of four outstanding and aspiring students. Although they are studying in Madrid, they came from two cities that are 470 miles away from each other - Moscow & Kyiv.

Andrey came from business development department of leading Russian steel-producing company where he was responsible for the investment analysis of brownfield projects. He holds a dual bachelor degree in Economics. He is also active member of Consulting and Venture Clubs at IE.

Ivan worked in business valuation at Financial Consulting Group, specializing in such industries as oil and gas services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals. He also has experience of working at ExxonMobil and CBRE. Ivan holds BSc degree in Economics from Higher School of Economics.

Artem has a wide experience in company analysis from accounting perspective at KPMG, where he was engaged in projects for top Russian investment banks. He gained his first experience at Commerzbank. He holds double bachelor degree in Economics and successfully passed 6 ACCA exams.

Viacheslav was self-employed as well as worked at Art Capital, Concorde Capital, VTB Capital and KPMG. He has Master Degree in Economic Analysis from Kyiv School of Economics (University of Houston). Currently he is level 3 Candidate in the CFA Program. Investment banking is his passion.

Anchor Capital is a group of four students from the Master of Science in Finance program at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Esther Chang received her BBA in Finance and Accounting from Pittsburg State University and worked as an Analyst for Columbia Capital Management, a Public Finance advisory firm. At Columbia, she had the opportunity to structure 12 bond transactions with a total par of more than $200M. She has a keen interest in pursuing a career in Investment Banking after completing her master degree. Joseph Frantz, a BA in Economics graduate from California State University, worked for the Conference Board as a Macroeconomic Analyst after receiving his degree. Upon graduation, he is interested in pursuing a career in Investment Banking. Roshan Patel received his BS in Mathematics from George Washington University. Last summer, he interned for Cranbrook Capital, an early-stage technology-focused venture capital firm, where he was able to work on three deals. Upon graduation, he is interested in pursuing a career in Investment Banking. Aka Akapelwa received his dual degree in Finance and Economics from Michigan State University and worked as an Analyst for Alcoa’s Financial Leadership Program. At Alcoa, he had the opportunity to contribute to various productivity savings targets up to $7M by building cost models, and providing analytical support for proposed capital expenditures. He is excited to start his career in Investment Banking as an Analyst with Jefferies & Company this June. Anchor Capital is proud to be the first team representing Vanderbilt and is excited to compete in the final competition. 

Sohail Singh, Lilliana Paoletti, Maggar Ghali, and Joe El-Habbaki are MBA students at the Schulich School of Business. Sohail Singh is a CFA Level III candidate for June 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Communications. With 3 years of experience as Consultant to Investment Banking clients, he plans to transition to a career in capital markets. Lilliana Paoletti completed her bachelors in geology from the University of Western Ontario.  Prior to studying at Schulich, she worked as an analyst at a boutique investment dealer specializing in the junior resource sector. Before Starting MBA, Maggar Ghali has served as Investment officer for Arabiyya Investment for 2 years. Prior to that Maggar, has been working as an Associate - Investment Banking in regional Middle Eastern Firms, Beltone Financial and Enmaa Financial Services. Joe El-Habbaki has started 3 businesses while completing his undergraduate degree. Prior to that, he managed multinational accounts at CnTel Productions in Dubai. Joe is currently pursuing a concentration in finance at Schulich.

BASE Capital encompasses a Masters in Finance student, Suruchi Parwal, and 3 cohort MBA students, Ali Mahmoud, Brice Mueller, and Evan Worle.  Suruchi has 5 years of equity research experience at Goldman Sachs and CRISIL. She also received a Master of Management Studies at Birla Institue of Technology and Science in Pilani and is looking toward a career in asset management/ VC industry. Ali brings 8 years of private equity experience, in which he has invested over $2.5 bn of capital. He received his BBA in Finance at the American University in Cairo, is a CFA Level III candidate, and has a passion for starting entrepreneurial ventures and growth capital. Brice entered the MBA program shortly after his undergraduate at the University of California, Merced where he received a B.S. in Management. He founded a chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and is looking forward to a career in consulting. Evan served as a financial advisor for USAA for 6 years. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Arizona and after his MBA is pursuing a career in corporate restructuring and turnarounds.  BASE Capital would like to thank the professors and staff in the MBA and M.S. Finance programs at the University of Texas at Dallas for their mentorship and support.

Margaret Lovatt, Daniel Murphy, Brendan Robinson, and Robin Usson are founding members of BDRM Associates, headquartered at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. Prior to BDRM, Margaret worked as an institutional equity research analyst for five years at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wake Forest University with a degree in psychology. Daniel joined BDRM after serving three combat deployments to Iraq as a Captain in the U.S. Army.  He was selected to attend the Credit Suisse MBA Military Boot Camp for investment banking in 20xx and graduated with a B.S. from Emporia State University. Before BDRM, Brendan worked as a Senior Financial Software Developer at Bloomberg for just under four years. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Florida, graduating Cum Laude with a major in Industrial & Systems Engineering.  Robin is a second year Master of Science in Management candidate enrolled in a dual degree at the Scheller College of Business and Grenoble Ecole de Management (France). His work experience includes financial analysis and financial controlling. BDRM is proud and excited to follow in the footsteps of previous Georgia Tech teams by participating in the 2014 NBIC Conference Finals.

BHKP Partners comprises of Zach Beckmann, Charles Hlinak, Sam Kenning, and Bernd Peters who are all MBA students at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.  Zach earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology and his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.  He began full-time employment with The Boeing Company in 2011 and is currently working in Business Development focusing on mergers and acquisitions, competitive assessments, and strategy.  Charles earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology.  He has worked for The Boeing Company since 2011 and is currently a Design & Analysis Engineer on the F-15 tactical fighter program.  Sam earned his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Missouri – Columbia.  He began working for U.S. Bank in 2010 and is now a Fund Manager dealing with tax credit investments.  Bernd earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology.  He joined The Boeing Company in 2010 and supports Business Development pertaining to international business campaign strategies and execution.  BHKP Partners is ready to take the final round by storm and bring home the NIBC 2015 1st place prize.

Black Pearl is honored and thrilled to be the first team to represent UC Berkeley Haas School of Business at the National Investment Banking Competition Finals. The team brings together four second year Haas MBA students with a combined 35+ years of experience in technology, industrial and healthcare industries. Cherian Abraham has 14 years of technology experience and works as Sr. IT Capacity Planner/Advisor at Rent-A-Center responsible for strategic planning and forecasting of IT infrastructure. Linda Chow has 7+ years of post-PhD product development experience in Technology/Healthcare and has also coached operational excellence at Intel and Medtronic. She is currently pursuing Investment Banking opportunities in the Technology/Healthcare industry. Arun Kulathumony has 8+ years of experience in the semiconductor industry and works as Staff Engineer/Project Manager at Qualcomm developing next generation Wireless router products. Matt Volm has 5+ years of financial and accounting experience in the healthcare industry and works as Sr. Associate at Kaufman Hall & Associates, providing financial advisory consulting services. We are active Haas Finance Club members and believe that outstanding due diligence and sharp valuations are crucial for every deal transaction. We look forward to meeting and learning from our fellow competitors, participants and delegates!  

 Team Brass Monkey hails from the Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All the monkeys are first year MBAs. Kari O'Brien is a former marketing manager. She is majoring in finance and interning this spring with Greene, Holcomb and Fisher. Eric Gill was a senior venture analyst with United Health Group. After business school, Eric wants to work in private equity. David Benedict is a CFP and CRPC, and formerly a manager for Ameriprise Financial. David is interested in consulting post-MBA. Breandan Gleason was a former digital forensic examiner and worked for Lazard. Breandan is exploring corporate strategy roles post-MBA.

HopkinsIB team is thrilled to represent the John Hopkins University and bring their global experience to the NIBC.  The team is composed of three MSc in Finance candidates and a MBA candidate. Yudi Liu is a CFA Level II candidate and has over a year of experience in private equity investing. She also had internships with Citibank Singapore and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Bo Yang is a CFA level III candidate and has over three years of experience in the corporate finance and insurance industry. Shaoxuan  Zhang is a CFA level II candidate and has  interned at Changjiang Securities in China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Toni Fares is a Fulbright Scholar and a former management consultant at PwC Dubai Office. He also interned at Citibank and AXA Insurance.

 DSB Capital is thrilled to be part of the 2015 National Investment Banking Competition and is proud to be the second MBA team to represent McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business at the competition. David A. Pickett has over 4 years of experience in the TMT sector as a back office financial analyst and as a sell side Equity Research Associate with CIBC World Markets. Ahmad Syed brings experience to the team from Corporate Banking at CIBC World Markets, Corporate Credit Risk at RBC and has completed the first two levels of the CFA curriculum. Thomas Finch has over four years of experience working at various securities firms such as Manulife Securities and most recently completed two internships with Scotiabank in Debt Capital Markets and Corporate Banking. Don Li has completed all three levels of the CFA curriculum and has completed internships at Scotiabank and RBC with a focus in Credit Risk. DSB Capital would like to make a special mention to Oliver Rowe who was an initial team member but was substituted, as he had to withdraw due to recent developments with his new employer. The team looks forward to meeting the rest of the competitors and is ready to face the challenges of the competition.

Team Ivey is composed of four MBA students from Western University’s Ivey Business School. Josh has sales experience in a variety of roles, most recently as a senior account manager at Xerox Corp. Karim has a background in finance and entrepreneurship, having most recently worked as an investment banking analyst at Capitalink Advisors Inc. Ryan brings years of real estate experience,  having worked at DREAM Unlimited for 3 years prior to starting his MBA. John brings 6 years of financial services experience with Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, most recently as an Investment Banking Associate in the mining group at Scotiabank. Team Ivey is looking forward to the opportunity to compete alongside teams from participating graduate business schools in Vancouver

The Lannister Capital Holdings team was born from the synergies generated by the combination of four Master of Financial Economics students. A native of Vancouver and a graduate of UBC, Michael spent a summer at the venture capital firm, Yaletown Venture Partners. This summer, Michael will be joining BMO Capital Markets as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst. As a veteran of the National Investment Banking Competition, Eric brings to the Lannister team a wealth of industry experience from his time as an Investment Fund Accountant at Desjardins and as a research assistant for HEC Montreal’s Department of Finance. Daniel spent time as an analyst at Manulife Financial in the Tactical Investment Management group. Daniel will be joining the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board this summer in the Global Tactical Asset Allocation division. Jonathan’s rich exposure in the asset management industry during his time as an analyst at the Duke Endowment Fund makes him a vital asset to Lannister Capital Holdings. This summer, Jonathan will be joining the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in the Global Corporate Securities group. The Lannister Capital Holdings team is ecstatic to be participating in the 2015 NIBC Finals representing the University of Toronto.

 Nick Mindel, Will Schmitt, Skyler Smith and Han Hu come from varied backgrounds and are pursuing their MBA's at USC Marshall School of Business. Nick has experience as an investment banker at Credit Suisse, a principal investor with THL Credit and has operated his own firm, all focused on various aspects and stages of the consumer space. The teams that Nick has been a part of have been responsible for over $8bn of deal value. Will has an extensive deal background with more than six years of transaction experience across corporate finance, investment banking, and private equity. Throughout his career Will has developed a specialty focus and passion for the consumer and retail sector. Skyler has launched and scaled several digital media businesses and provided management consulting to several of the largest advertising media conglomerates globally. Prior to attending business school, Han worked as a international strategy and planning analyst at Disney. Han started his career in investment banking with Roth Capital Partners. We all look forward to representing USC Marshall in the finals of NIBC. 

NLM fuses the idea and capabilities of 4 full time MBA candidates from different industries and cultures. Lukas, from Germany, has a strong finance background through his experience in derivative sales, investment banking, and financial research with the founding of his own research company. Nitesh, from India, provides a strong competency in research and deal execution through his experience with various research houses and a leading Mumbai investment bank. Matt Wan, from Canada, has spent the past 5 years delivering value in various roles in the banking industry. Through his experiences, Matt has developed a thorough understanding of middle office banking. Finally, Matt Ryan, from the United States, has developed a strong understanding of corporate financial analysis while working for the world’s largest aerospace company and deal execution while leading numerous deals across the globe for a private equity subsidiary company. All members of NLM are excited at the opportunity to meet and compete against such high caliber competitors.

Srijan, Rene, Peter and Morgan are students in the Master of Finance program at the Rotman School of Management. Srijan is a lawyer at the Royal Bank of Canada and has experience advising on capital markets transactions, investment banking, OTC derivatives and offering of capital markets products internationally. Srijan was called to the Ontario bar in 2006. Rene is an Equity Research Associate at UBS Securities and covers basic material, fertilizer and specialty chemical companies. Rene is a CPA, CA. Peter is an Investment Associate at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and works within the Tactical Asset Allocation team as a trader. Peter is a CFA Charterholder. Morgan is a proprietary trader at Blackwatch Capital and focuses on interlisted US-Canadian equities. Morgan is a CFA Charterholder. PRiSM Capital Markets is looking forward to competing with the other high calibre 2015 NIBC Case competition finalists.

REAL CAPITAL consists of four vibrant MBA students from National University of Singapore. Though each of the members come from a different culture, country and background, they are closely bonded by their common passion to numbers and investment analysis. Anoop previously worked as an AVP at copal Amba, a Moody’s subsidiary. He also passed CFA Level 3 Exam in June 2014. Etienne completed a Master degree in finance and has several years of experience working in the financial services industry in Canada and Asia. Legend has several years of experience in management consultant and Financial servicing, he also passed CFA level 1 Exam in June 2014. Raul is a CFA, he worked as an equity fund manager in Philippines, specializing in handling institutional accounts.

Representing the Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management are Matt Christopher, Meng Zhang, Raghav Singh, and Snehal Sanghavi. Prior to beginning his MBA, Matt finished an accelerated undergrad/MBA program focusing in Finance and Consulting. Matt has worked for a private equity shop, Thompson Street Capital Partners, as an analyst in which he performed due diligence and valuation analysis on over 15 industry groups. He has also worked for GE Capital in their Capital Markets team where he covered debt side transactions including recapitalizations, dividends, leveraged buyouts financing, and add-ons. Matt is currently interested in pursuing an investment banking career. Meng Zhang is a Master of Global Supply Chain Management student. She has an e-commerce and supply chain management background and has interned with the Bank of China as well as consulting firms. Raghav Singh is working to complete his Master of Science in Finance degree from Purdue this summer. Before beginning his studies at Purdue, Raghav worked as an equity research analyst for Nomura Securities. He has an interest in numbers and analytics and is interested in working on interest rate derivatives. Snehal Sanghavi holds a Bachelor of Engineering and has completed the full CFA certification in India and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Finance at Purdue. She has over six years of experience in software development, website building, and general management. Team Synergy is proud to represent Purdue at the NIBC and for the opportunity to meet and learn alongside some of the best and the brightest of the next generation of bankers.

Alp, Brian and Finn are a diverse mix of German, Irish and Turkish students who are ready to prove they are anything but just a bunch of average Joes. After completing undergraduate degrees at Galatasaray University, University College Dublin and the Rotterdam School of Management, these three students are now Master of Finance candidates at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Combined, they have over six years’ experience in a variety of industries, including Accounting, Consulting, Corporate Finance and Investment Banking. Such variety lends well to effective teamwork under pressure. These Trader Joes are excited to capitalise on these diverse perspectives with continued success in the NIBC.

Team “The Big Jack” brings together four people with diverse background pursuing their MBAs at Georgetown University. Luc has ten years’ corporate finance experiences as auditor, financial analyst, investment manager, financial controller and investment banker. His focus has been mainly on manufacturing, logistics and supply chain industry. Albert, a UCLA graduate majored in Economics, has pursued a career as an auditor in construction industry. He gained the perspective of entrepreneurship from developing his own apparel business and from working for his family’s educational business. Currently a JD/MBA candidate at Georgetown University, Christian owned an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University. He has worked with the US Department of Treasury’s Financial Intelligence Enforcement Network on issues related to financial crimes. Kenan has worked as an investment banking associate intern in Macquarie Group last summer. Graduated from Chemical Engineering in University of Rochester, he owned a master degree in Banking and Corporate Finance from Harvard Extension School. He brings to the team hands-on experiences in a global investment bank and serves as an anchor for the team.

Chris Gillings, Maia Szafer, Byron Kam and Nick Veltri are MBA students at Yale School of Management. Chris has five years of experience working in investment banking and private equity in Sydney, Australia. Maia is pursuing her MBA through Yale’s Silver Scholars program and recently graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Accounting. Byron was previously a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in its New Orleans Wealth Management team. Nick leads the Finance Club at Yale SOM and will be joining Morgan Stanley’s New York Investment Banking Associate class after graduating in 2015. The Undiscountables are excited about the opportunity to compete in the NIBC 2015.

Team University of San Diego consists of three undergraduate students and one MBA student. Thomas Cotter is a junior at the University of San Diego in the Honors program, majoring in finance with a Spanish minor. During the summer of 2014, he interned at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a research analyst. He also helped manage the university’s endowment fund. Christian Di Scala is a junior at the University of San Diego and is the president of the university's Investment Banking Network. He is currently an investment banking analyst intern at W Partners, a boutique investment bank, where he has had substantial experience in sell-side M&A advisory and capital raising.  Steve McMahon is a senior at the University of San Diego, majoring in accounting and finance. He currently interns for a long/short equity hedge fund focused on small cap stocks. Over the past summer, Steve worked for Deloitte as an audit and transaction advisory services intern. David Samuel is an MBA student at the University of San Diego. He spent the summer of 2014 at 20th Century Fox’s motion picture deals analysis and strategic planning group in Los Angeles where he constructed and analyzed financial models. Currently, he works on monetization strategies for a start-up mobile music app called GigTown.

 Vault Capital is composed of four students from Master of Science in Finance program (Msc in Finance) at Simon Fraser University. All members act as equity analyst of SFU SIAS fund (over $15MM market value). With various working experience and industry background, ranging from internships in investment banks to traders in investment firms, from pure finance to traffic engineering, Vault Capital members share a profound interest in the world of investment banking transactions. They look forward to this tremendously exciting opportunity to showcase their penchant and skills in the investment banking industry.